Sweet potato casserole topped with marshmallows has become a staple of many Thanksgiving tables. But if you’re ready to rethink this iconic holiday dish, a community of home cooks is here to help.
Delicious no-meat recipes for your holiday table.
Meet the chefs of Food52.com, a Web site devoted to the creativity of the home cook. Food52, created by longtime food writers Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, relies on a community of experienced home cooks who, week after week, submit original home recipes. The site hosts frequent contests, and recipe entries with the most potential are tested and put to a final vote. The best dishes have been compiled in a new book, “The Food52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes From Exceptional Home Cooks.’’
Ms. Hesser, a former New York Times food editor, and Ms. Stubbs, who has also written for The Times, collaborated on “The Essential New York Times Cookbook” and other projects, but together discovered that their favorite dishes were often those they discovered from home cooks. As a result, they decided to create a place for home cooks to gather online to swap their best recipes and seek advice.
“People feel a sense of calm getting advice and ideas from other home cooks who have been in the trenches with them,” says Ms. Stubbs.
For the Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving series, the home chefs of the Food52 community have reinvented sweet potatoes, offering four new ways to enjoy the fall vegetable. Even the most devoted casserole lovers won’t be thinking about the marshmallows when they try Southwestern Spiced Sweet Potato Fries With Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream. Or consider buttery, layered and caramelized Sweet Potatoes Anna With Prunes. Charge up traditional mashed potatoes by substituting mashed sweet potatoes and parsnips. Or replace the customary squash or pumpkin soup starter with a sweet potato soup infused with Middle Eastern flavors and topped with feta cheese.
Visit Well’s interactive recipe collection to see more Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes; we will be adding new dishes daily.
The Food 52 Cookbook’s
Southwestern Spiced Sweet Potato Fries With Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream
Sweet potato french fries will surprise everyone at your holiday table — and nobody will miss the marshmallows. The potatoes are baked, not fried, so no need to feel guilty. Chili powder, cumin, cayenne and paprika complement the natural sweetness of the potatoes. It’s probably a good idea to double this recipe, because they go fast
For the Potato Fries:
2 large sweet potatoes, cut in matchsticks/batons, approximately 1/4 × 2 inches (no need to peel)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
For the Chili-Cilantro Sour Cream:
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 heaping tablespoon chopped cilantro
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss the sweet potatoes and olive oil in a large bowl.
2. Combine the salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl. Add to the potatoes and toss to coat.
3. Arrange the potatoes in one layer on a large baking sheet. Bake on the lowest rack of the oven until the undersides are browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes with a spatula and bake for 10 more minutes.
4. While the potatoes are cooking, make the sour cream sauce. Combine all the ingredients except the cilantro in a medium bowl and whisk together. Stir in the cilantro.
5. Remove the potatoes from the oven and cool for a few minutes. Serve with the sour cream.
Yield: 6 servings.
The Food 52 Cookbook’s
Sweet Potatoes Anna With Prunes
This layered sweet potato gratin comes out of the oven caramelized on the edges and glistening with butter. The potatoes in the center are soft, their layers embedded with prunes; the ones around the edges are so crisp and sweet from the port, they taste candied. Slice the potatoes thinly — use a mandoline if you have one — and check the potatoes after 35 minutes in the oven. By 40 minutes, ours were perfect.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup port
10 pitted prunes
5 to 6 small sweet potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Clarify the butter: In a small saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter. Skim off any foam, then pour the clear liquid into a bowl, leaving behind the solids.
2. Heat the port to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the prunes, turn off the heat and let them soak until plumped, about 20 minutes. Drain and chop the prunes coarsely.
3. Heat oven to 450 degrees.
4. Brush a layer of clarified butter onto your favorite 8- or 9-inch round baking dish or ovenproof frying pan.
5. Arrange a layer of potatoes, overlapping in circles, in the dish. Brush with the clarified butter and season with salt and pepper. Arrange another layer of potatoes and sprinkle with about half the prune pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Brush with clarified butter. Repeat with one more layer of potatoes and prunes, then end with a layer of potatoes. Remember to brush each layer with clarified butter and salt and pepper. You can do four layers of potatoes or six; it’s up to you. Pack the potatoes tightly by pressing down on them with your palms. If there’s a little butter left at the end, it’s no big deal.
6. Bake until crisp and tender, 35 to 45 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then flip the cake onto a serving plate and cut into wedges. If desired, finish with a dusting of sugar and a couple of minutes of broiling, for a brûlée top. It can also be made using apples and prunes, or just apples.
Yield: 6 to 10 servings.
The Food 52 Cookbook’s
Sweet Potato Soup With Feta and Za’atar Oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons za’atar (a spice blend that combines dried hyssop, thyme and sesame seeds and can be found at Middle Eastern grocers or other specialty stores)
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 leek, white part only, rinsed thoroughly and diced
5 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
6 cups water
2 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup feta cheese
1. In a small pot, combine 1/4 cup olive oil and the za’atar. Cook over medium heat until hot, but take care not to burn the za’atar. Set aside for at least one hour to cool and infuse.
2. In a large pot, heat the butter and remaining olive oil over medium high heat. When the butter has melted, add the onion, carrot and leek and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potato cubes and sauté for another minute. Add the water, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Once the soup begins to boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Check to make sure the sweet potatoes are completely soft. If not, continue cooking until they are.
3. Remove the bay leaf and puree the soup using a regular or immersion blender. Check the seasoning and add the salt (you may need more or less depending on the stock you used). Ladle out the soup into individual bowls. Crumble some feta into each bowl, and drizzle each bowl with some of the za’atar oil.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
The Food 52 Cookbook’s
Sweet Potato and Parsnip Mash
1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes
1 pound parsnips
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 packed tablespoon freshly grated horseradish, divided
Additional salt and horseradish to taste
Sugar, maple syrup or honey, if needed to sweeten
1. Peel the sweet potatoes and parsnips, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.
2. Combine the sweet potato and parsnip slices, cream, butter, salt and half of the horseradish in a 3- or 4-quart saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened. This will take about 40 to 50 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and mash with a potato masher to desired texture. Stir in half of remaining horseradish, making sure to incorporate well. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, additional horseradish and/or sweetener if needed. Serve hot.
Yield: 4 servings.
